While TRANSIT has traditionally focused on the Klang Valley and Penang we are seeing a growing demand for public transport in Johor Baru and the Iskandar Development Region.

More importantly, Perbadanan PAIM is the best example of a Local/Regional Public Transport Organizing Authority that we can find in Malaysia. What makes Perbadanan PAIM interesting is that they focus on administration, organization and planning, rather than providing the services themselves…as can be seem from the list of Bus Operators.

This is much more efficient and effective than the current situation in Penang and the Klang Valley, where government-owned companies RapidKL & RapidPenang are engaged in unhealthy and inefficient competition with private bus companies, and information delivery is limited, discouraging public transport users.

This is also more efficient than the current situation in Melaka, where the state government has decided to buy out private bus operators, or in Putrajaya where Pengangkutan Awam Putrajaya is having trouble getting passengers because it is stuck in Putrajaya (rather than serving as the Regional Public Transport Organizing Authority for the Langat Valley from Hulu Langat-Kajang-Putrajaya-Dengkil-Sepang, as TRANSIT has recommended).

And of course the arrangements used by Pernadanan PAIM are much more efficient than public transport that depends exclusively on private corporations…an approach that has ultimately failed public transport users in cities and regions throughout the country.

So please, take a good look at Perbadanan PAIM and give them your feedback…so a good thing can become better. And as always your comments and suggestions and feedback are welcomed. Please add your thoughts to the comments below.

In order to support the use of public transport, there should be a reward for those who are everyday users of public transport because they are not clogging the roads & polluting the air.

Transit Malaysia proposes that the government offer income tax credits of minimum RM300 to those who purchase 12 monthly public transport passes in one tax year. Lesser credits would be made available to those who purchase fewer than 12 passes.

TRANSIT has also made the following comment and proposal:

Public transport in Malaysia is unreliable, infrequent and plagued by inefficient competition. The government plans to put “RAPID” bus services in every major capital city. However, these companies would not be local or locally accountable and would instead answer to decisions made by Prasarana in KL.

TRANSIT Malaysia proposes that the government create local/regional public transport organizing authorities to manage and organize public transport services in the Klang Valley and other economic regions.

There is obviously more to be said, especially on the failure of our existing poorly-regulated, non-accountable and ineffective public transport system,but we only had 500 characters available in which to post.

TRANSIT asks for your support in promoting comments that support efficient, wise investments that will improve public transport operations throughout Malaysia.

TRANSIT took note of this interesting article which discusses the Open Day that Prasarana is holding to share information about the LRT Extension Programme Open Day which will inform the public about the Ampang & Kelana Jaya LRT extension plans.

TRANSIT took note of two interesting articles related to the current Chinese New Year Holiday period – the standard set of warnings against touting and the standard article about related enforcement efforts.

The big question is, do Malaysians feel that the current enforcement and touting situation is better now that SPAD is in charge?

We know that SPAD is definitely more proactive than the CVLB was when it comes to enforcement. We know that they are also making more effort to reach out to the public and encourage complaints and feedback – whether on their websites, through phone, email and social media, and even encouraging walk-in complaints with offices at bus terminals, as well as their central offices.

He said they would be “duly dealt with” under the Public Land Transport Act 2010 if nabbed.

“Those days, the fine was only RM300 and most cases did not have to go to court but under the new Act, investigation papers are immediately opened when offenders are apprehended,” said Che Hasni during SPAD’s special enforcement operations at Pudu Sentral.

Offenders could be fined up to RM50,000 under Section 75 of the Act, he added.

LAND Public Transport Commission (SPAD) recently carried out an operation called OPS Serkap 1 to nab touts and carry out inspections on express buses at Pudu Sentral.

The operation, which will be ongoing until the end of the month, is targeted at major bus stations.

During the 13-hour operation, SPAD nabbed five touts. Three buses were issued summonses for picking up passengers from non-designated pick-up points, while two buses were fined for not having the temporary variation licences (LPS).

TRANSIT Says:

So…how can we be confident in our confidence in SPAD? One way would be if we actually had information about SPAD’s enforcement department – how many people, where they are based, what laws they are enforcing, how to reach them, etc.

In the knowledge-based economy, information and knowledge is the source of wealth & power.

Update: On request from Prasarana, TRANSIT has been asked to take down this post. We have chosen to take down the image instead, and keep the post in place.

TRANSIT Says:

The reason we have maintained the post is simple – we want the public to know that a new livery design has been developed and Prasarana has nearly decided on it – even if we have been asked not to show the design to the public.

We submit to Prasarana that before they decide on the livery, they should make potential designs public and ask the public for feedback. They could even have a design contest like the MyRT design contest – though that might be more for PR than anything else.

What is more important is that they should ask the public what they want from their new monorail trains (better seating, grab bars, in-train information systems, wheelchair seating area, wi-fi, etc) and try to ensure that some of these new features are in place.

Ideally, SCOMI should provide a mock-up of their SUTRA train, fitted to Prasarana’s requested specifications (based, of course, on feedback from the public) so that everyone can see what the new monorail trains will look like.

TRANSIT took note of this absurd piece of news where the KL government will be spending lots of your RM to widen Jalan Ma’rof in Bangsar, in the area between Jalan Bangsar (where the flyover to/from MidValley is) and Jalan Ara (where the Masjid is).

Why is the government widening only this section of the road? Because this is the area where there is a great deal of congestion caused by taxis that queue up to fill-up with Natural Gas at the Petronas station between Jalan Riong & Jalan Tempinis.

Taxis lining up to fill up natural gas at a petrol station in Jalan Maarof, and causing a bottleneck. Pic by Syarafiq Abd Samad, New Straits Times.

The Petronas station in Bangsar is the only NGV facility in the south side of KL, and the daily queues are a source of frustration for residents, neighbours and taxi drivers alike.

But instead of solving the problem by having Petronas build more NGV filling stations – or even a centralized multi-level filling station in the nearby Tenaga Nasional lands, the DBKL government has decided to widen the road so taxis can queue up.

Update: It is interesting to note that this post is TRANSIT’s 888th published post!

TRANSIT notes that the final draft of the Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley masterplan has now been posted to the SPAD website under the section about the National Public Transport Masterplan (which, incidentally, should be posted to the SPAD website in December 2011).